Chapter 121 Life Forbidden Zone 20

"No?"

Ren Xiayang stared at the rock wall in front of him, wanting to cry but unable to. "We finally crossed the glacier, and now we have to climb rocks again?"

"That's right, rock climbing."

Jiang Ran had no intention of comforting Ren Xiayang at all. He took out a mountaineering pick from his backpack and threw the rope towards him.

Zeng Pei stared at the stone wall, silently estimating the possibility of his successful climb up.

Ren Xiayang was still lamenting, "My arms are so sore now that I can hardly move them. How can I climb?"

"Yes," Jiang Ran swung his climbing claws toward the cliff, tugged a few times to make sure they were secure, and then turned to Ren Xiayang and said, "That's what mountaineering is all about. All your potential is unleashed."

"I……"

Ren Xiayang looked at the smooth rock wall that was dozens of meters high and swallowed.

"How about we look around a bit and see if there's a better way?"

"No," Jiang Ran retorted without hesitation, "This is already the easiest climbing route."

"How is that possible?" Ren Xiayang blurted out, "You've never been up there before, so how do you know this is the easiest route?"

Jiang Ran said calmly, "Who said I haven't been there before?"

Ren Xiayang: "Ha, have you been up there?"

"Yes." Jiang Ran said as a matter of course

"Huh?" Ren Xiayang was a little confused. He turned to look at Xu Yang, "Mr. Xu, did you come here specifically to conduct an on-site inspection before this match started?"

"No." Xu Yang shook his head.

He knew that Jiang Ran was talking about things from his previous life, and the truth was often told in the form of a joke.

Xu Yang's face remained calm, but he couldn't help but feel extremely relieved in his heart.

When you are willing to talk about the past, it is probably when you are truly willing to let it go.

Ren Xiayang was confused for a long time, but still couldn't figure out when Jiang Ran would be able to come here to climb the mountain.

Thinking is not his strong point, so if he can't figure something out, he simply gives up.

"Forget it," Ren Xiayang consoled himself, "If you've climbed this mountain before, it would definitely be much easier to climb it a second time. Now it's up to you."

"That's not necessarily true."

Jiang Ran tugged at the rope and asked leisurely, "Who said I managed to climb up last time I came here?"

Ren Xiayang: "Ah? What? Did you fail?"

Jiang Ran didn't answer, so Ren Xiayang imagined many difficult mountain climbing scenes in his mind and couldn't help shivering.

When everyone had tied up the fixed ropes and were climbing up with climbing claws, Ren Xiayang was still immersed in his own imagination, almost composing a heroic epic in his mind of setbacks and more courage after more battles.

Rock climbing is certainly not an easy thing.

Even with more advanced equipment, it is normal for beginners to fall a few times.

Fortunately, this is not a formal rock climbing class. Jiang Ran has no problem climbing by himself and still has enough energy to help others.

The most surprising person was probably Xu Yang.

He was agile and had strong core strength, and his fingertips never slipped when they gripped the rugged stone walls.

Jiang Ran looked at Xu Yang, then at Ren Xiayang, and couldn't help but sigh: "What kind of training did you get in the army? It's not as good as what others do in business."

Ren Xiayang tensed his waist and abdomen, gritted his teeth and said, "There are not even mountains on the capital planet. How could the federal army possibly train such a thing?"

"Oh." Jiang Ran grabbed the rock wall with one hand and turned to look down. "Then it still won't work."

Ren Xiayang was stimulated, his face, already flushed from holding his breath and trying to push himself up while rock climbing, almost steaming: "Don't compare yourself too much, everyone has their own strengths!"

Jiang Ran: "Oh?"

Ren Xiayang: "Although I can't compare to Mr. Xu in rock climbing, I am a better food connoisseur!"

Jiang Ran: “…”

“It’s shocking.”

Jiang Ran murmured, "The glutton actually has another nickname: food connoisseur."

Ren Xiayang: “…”

Ren Xiayang was not willing to admit defeat. He gathered all his strength and began to climb up, much faster than before.

Rock climbing was not a difficult task for Jiang Ran and Xu Yang. Moreover, the rock wall was only a few dozen meters high, so they reached the top quickly.

Looking back at Zeng Pei, who was climbing with difficulty but maintaining a steady pace, and then at Ren Xiayang, who was gritting his teeth and chasing after him, Xu Yang smiled and said, "Is it really okay for you to bully Ren Xiayang like this?"

Jiang Ran took out some water from his backpack and took a sip. "But this is the most effective way to stimulate him. Otherwise, how long will it take for him to crawl?"

Rock climbing requires skill in many aspects, and Ren Xiayang, who relies on brute force, does not have an advantage.

His eyes were fixed on Zeng Pei. Xu Yang and Jiang Ran couldn't catch up, but he couldn't fall behind Zeng Pei, right?

With this determination, Ren Xiayang finally climbed to the top of the rock wall.

While Jiang Ran was leisurely collecting climbing tools such as the climbing pick and fixed rope, Ren Xiayang was sprawled on the ground.

Ren Xiayang panted heavily: "I am also very powerful today!"

"Yeah, congratulations." Jiang Ran packed up his things and gave him a thumbs up. "You're last."

"Hello!"

Jiang Wenxue and Jiang Ran are not taking the same path.

She did not have any extra life experience, and did not know the simplest climbing route recognized by the exploration circle in the ancient Earth period. She herself did not know much about mountaineering exploration. So when a bodyguard suggested that it might be possible to climb up the mountainside by rock climbing, Jiang Wenxue looked at the smooth stone wall dozens of meters high and subconsciously rejected the proposal.

And this means new problems.

The almost vertical drop of Mount Qomolangma means that many places on the mountain are inaccessible to humans.

The inability to directly climb to the mountainside meant that Jiang Wenxue and others would need to spend more time looking for a route to the summit.

"I told you we should go that way!"

"What's the point of you talking after the fact now?"

"Oh, that's enough. I just took the wrong road. It's not the first time."

“…”

"Quiet!"

The mountain wind was so strong and rustling that Jiang Wenxue had to shout at the top of her lungs.

Although they were already very upset, the other bodyguards had not forgotten their financial backers, so they all shut up and calmed down.

After reaching a dead end many times, they finally decided to stop temporarily and discuss the next step.

"This won't work," Jiang Wenxue said first. "This is the fifth time we've reached a dead end. If we continue blindly like this, we'll just waste more time."

"So what do you say we should do, Wenxue?"

"Yeah, what are you going to do? We'll all listen to you."

Jiang Wenxue frowned, pondering as he slowly spoke, "If we all stick together, we'll just make mistakes together, and the cost will be too high."

"So what you mean is..."

Everyone looked at each other.

"Let's go our separate ways." Jiang Wenxue said with finality.

"Separate?" someone asked, "But the snowy mountains are so dangerous. It would be very dangerous to walk alone."

"Then team up in pairs."

Jiang Wenxue had clearly made up her mind. She said firmly, "I'm not saying that we should completely separate. It's just that we must separate first and look in all directions so that we can find a convenient climbing route as quickly as possible."

"Of course, we still have to reconcile. Since I proposed this plan, I will be responsible to the end."

"I'll stay on the snow slope we were on earlier as a base for everyone to find their way. Everyone, keep track of the time. If you find the way, come back to me. If you don't, come back to the snow slope in two hours. We'll reunite and then head towards the route we've found together."

“This is the most efficient way.”

After Jiang Wenxue finished explaining her plan, everyone else fell silent for a moment.

They were not fools and could understand the deeper meaning behind Jiang Wenxue's words.

What separates the march?

Jiang Wenxue stayed in a safe place while others went to find a way. Wouldn't that mean that everyone else would go and explore the way, while she would stay where she was and reap the benefits?

And I want to describe myself as the anchor of harmony...

Rich people nowadays don't do much, but they are really good at talking sweet words. They can turn black into white and false into true.

But they had already realized this when they gave up on their teammates one by one. Jiang Wenxue was just that kind of person. She came to the show with a completely utilitarian motive, so it was impossible to hold her to high moral standards.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Jiang Wenxue asked again.

"No, no problem."

"Okay, then let's set off according to the plan we just discussed. Time is limited, so we must hurry."

Jiang Wenxue did not return to the snow slope alone.

She also formed teams of two and brought along the most capable bodyguard in the team.

After all, even if you have walked on the snow slope, who knows if you will encounter any sudden danger again. It is definitely safer to have someone to protect you.

An hour later, no one came back.

The bodyguard who stayed behind was a little worried: "Could it be that they haven't found the climbing route yet?"

"How is that possible?" Jiang Wenxue frowned. "It's not the agreed time yet. They're still trying to find the way."

Another hour passed, and still no one came back.

The bodyguard became even more anxious: "It's already the agreed time, will something happen to everyone?"

"It's just a matter of finding a way, what could happen?" Jiang Wenxue said unhappily.

"Of course something's going to happen," the bodyguard said panicked. "When we encountered the blizzard and mudslide before, we all stuck together as a team to help each other, but didn't we still lose members in the end? Not to mention there's only two of us on the team. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid no one will be able to escape."

"Don't exaggerate," Jiang Wenxue stomped her feet impatiently, leaving several deep muddy footprints in the snow. "Even if something happens, it won't happen to everyone at once. Someone will definitely come back."

The bodyguard was shocked.

According to Jiang Wenxue's words, as long as someone comes back, it's fine. She seems to be completely indifferent whether others encounter danger or are eliminated.

The bodyguard didn't say anything for a moment, but his emotions were reflected on his face.

Jiang Wenxue saw this and, although annoyed, he was the only useful bodyguard around. So, after thinking it over, he reassured him, "Don't overthink it. They must have found the right way, but they want to explore further ahead to avoid returning blindly to tell us and end up leading us the wrong way. We just need to wait a little longer."

Upon hearing this, the bodyguard tried hard to force an ugly smile.

Jiang Wenxue was in a restless mood and didn't look carefully.

Another hour passed and snow began to fall on the mountain.

Although not as dangerous as a blizzard, the temperature dropped significantly, which is often fatal in the snowy mountains.

Jiang Wenxue's expectations were finally not completely disappointed. When it was getting dark, two people finally walked out from the heavy snow and wind, supporting each other.

"Have you found the way?" Jiang Wenxue was already extremely anxious at this point, and started asking people as soon as she saw them.

One of the two recovered bodyguards was injured, and a slight limp was noticeable as he walked. The man supporting him frowned, but after a deep breath, he answered Jiang Wenxue's question, "We found a path, but time was limited, and we encountered snowstorms, so we didn't have time to explore further. But it should be passable."

"That's good," Jiang Wenxue's heart suddenly relaxed. "Where is the road you mentioned? It's getting late, let's get going."

"Leaving now?" The lame bodyguard looked around. "Where are the others? Shouldn't we wait for them?"

Jiang Wenxue glanced at his legs. "It's been over three hours now, much longer than the two hours we agreed on. Those who can return should have already returned, and the rest have probably been eliminated."

"But we've been walking for a long time in the snow, and his leg is injured. We need to rest."

"you……"

Jiang Wenxue was about to retort when she saw the three bodyguards share the same grimace. Thinking that she would need them later, and that she could only rely on these three, Jiang Wenxue decided to back down for now.

"Then let's take a ten-minute break."

"Leave in ten minutes."

When the words "ten minutes" were heard, there was a lot of noise in the live broadcast room.

"Ten minutes of rest? I've been playing games for more than ten minutes. How can that be considered a break?"

[+1, those runners are so miserable! They have to find the way, and those who are slow and can't find it are directly abandoned. After they finally find it, they are not even allowed to rest for a while and are immediately forced to go again.]

I'm curious, would this violate labor laws?

[There's no need to be so sarcastic, right? Jiang Wenxue is also thinking about everyone else, hoping to get on the road quickly and achieve victory...]

[I agree with the above. This is a competition after all. Shouldn't we think about how to win instead of how to make everyone feel more comfortable?]

[There's no need to empathize with Jiang Wenxue. Directing Jiang Ran's livestream, please take a good look at how normal people can maintain progress and win by not giving up on their teammates. This will clear your mind.]

[Let's go, yesterday I saw that player abandoned by the team and frozen to death in the snow. I wanted to stay in Jiang Wenxue's live broadcast room and insult her to my heart's content, but today this happened again. I don't want to talk anymore. Abandoning teammates is just her traditional skill.]

[I don’t want to watch the rubbish players, so I’m leaving]

[Let go of yourself and go to Jiang Ran’s live broadcast room]

[If I stay here for one more second, I’ll feel disgusted with myself for getting dirty.]

【……】

Jiang Wenxue's main purpose for participating in the program is to gain popularity, so naturally he always pays attention to the developments in his live broadcast room.

She cannot see the real-time discussion content of netizens, she can only see the number of people online.

Yesterday, she decided to abandon the bodyguard who disappeared in the snowstorm and let everyone focus on winning the game so as not to let her teammates' sacrifices go to waste. The number of online users in the live broadcast room ushered in a new high, and even continued to rise in the next half day. This is also the basis for her belief that maintaining the spirit of competition and putting winning first is the right approach.

However, after she agreed to let several bodyguards take a ten-minute break, the number of people online in the live broadcast room fluctuated violently, and soon it began to show a decline in the number of people online!

Jiang Wenxue naturally believed that it was her agreement to rest, her lack of prioritization for the competition, and her lack of desire to win that disappointed the audience in the live broadcast room, and therefore they left her live broadcast room.

Jiang Wenxue certainly couldn't accept this gap.

She stood up immediately: "Has it been a while since we rested? Let's get up and continue on our journey!"

The bodyguard behind him looked at the time blankly. It wasn't even ten minutes yet.

But Jiang Wenxue had made up her mind, and no matter how they argued back, it was useless. They had no choice but to obey her wishes, stand up and continue on their way.

At this time, Jiang Wenxue and Jiang Ran's teams had both completed half of their progress.

Jiang Wenxue still had a slight advantage, but it was almost gone and Jiang Ran could catch up at any time.